Recently, wireless type mobile communication networks serving mobile communication terminals such as wireless telephones have become more prevalent. This type of mobile communication network typically determines the current location of a wireless telephone. Determination of the current location allows the mobile communication network to call the wireless telephone when calls to the wireless telephone are received by the mobile communication network.
The location of the wireless telephone may be determined with a location registration process. In the location registration process, a location of a wireless telephone is registered as being within a location registration area. The location registration area includes multiple radio zones and is a geographic area having a radius of several hundred meters to several kilometers. The geographic area is formed by the radio zones of multiple base stations of a mobile communications network. Each base station transmits an area ID specific to the location registration area. Moving wireless telephones may detect entry into a different location registration area when an area ID received from a base station changes.
When the location registration area changes, a wireless telephone sends a location-registration request signal to the mobile communications network. As a result of the location-registration request signal, the ID of the wireless telephone and the area ID of the new location registration area are registered. The ID of the wireless telephone and the area ID of the new location registration area are registered as location registration information in a location registration database in the mobile communications network. In this way, the mobile communication network can know the location registration area in which a wireless telephone is currently located. The mobile communication network may use the location registration information to forward calls to the wireless telephone.
Recently, voiceless use of a mobile communications network such as a mobile packet communications service is becoming popular. Data communication services that distribute value added information relating to the location of a wireless telephone using the location registration information have been proposed. Using the aforementioned conventional location registration process, however, the actual location of a wireless telephone cannot be provided. The actual location cannot be determined based on the location registration information since the location registration area is a wide area that has multiple radio zones (an area with a radius of, for example, 10 Km or greater). For example, in conventional services, it is not possible to distribute location related information limited to a narrow area around a specific train station or the like.
Accordingly, a need exists for a location registration system that distributes location related information indicating a more limited area that the wireless telephone is residing within.